Pullman Saigon Centre in Ho Chi Minh Offers New Kind of Stay

Accor’s Flagship Hotel in Vietnam Offers an Alternative to Business Five-Stars and Boutiques

The Pullman Saigon Centre,a slim glass-and-steel rectangle rising 30 stories above a narrow wedge of pavement in Ho Chi Minh City, is Accor’s flagship hotel in Vietnam. Stridently contemporary in design and outfitted with the latest in-room technology, the hotel offers an alternative to the generic business five-stars and nostalgia-tinged boutique lodgings that have long dominated this economic hub’s hospitality landscape.

Design: Cloaked in ceiling-high warehouse windows, the hotel makes Ho Chi Minh City’s frenetic streets and changing landscape a focal point in public and private spaces. Throughout the hotel, earth tones in the form of slate, concrete and finished timber are punctuated with splashes of color. In the lobby, which is anchored at one end by an intimate bar, whimsical resin chandeliers and wire animal sculptures hang above soft magenta (a signature Pullman hue) panels backing a sleek black-granite reception desk. Mustard-colored pillows soften tailored sofas and Saarinen-inspired lounge chairs. Urban edginess reaches its apogee in Cobalt Restaurant & Bar, where the menu leans to a la carte and small plates. The 30th-floor position and wraparound windows command unrivaled city views. In the concrete and terrazzo-floored loft-like space, crimson upholstered chairs flank dining tables and a U-shape bar backed by a glass-walled wine library. The best tables occupy a small open-air terrace facing Bitexco Financial Tower. A flight of stairs leads to a rooftop bar.

Pullman Saigon Centre

Rooms:Gauzy metallic mesh curtains frame wall-to-wall windows, adding a dash of drama to rooms that range in size from 365 to 1,720 square feet. Rain showers, espresso makers and Bose docking stations are standard, as is city information (what to do, where to shop and eat, and suggested itineraries) dispensed in seven languages from IPTVs that sync to mobile devices via an app. Soaking tubs feature in higher-floor deluxe rooms (avoid corner deluxe rooms, whose L-shape places the tub, which is awkwardly shielded by a bulky overhang, in the middle of the space), while roomy Pullman suites feature curvy day beds and tub rooms with raised platforms and a view. Guests on executive floors are treated to breakfast, brunch, evening cocktails and all-day refreshments in a serene lounge.

Location: The Hotel Pullman is the first international branded hotel to break ground in the southwest part of Saigon’s District 1, seemingly at the edge of the city’s action. Yet it is ideally placed for sightseeing: walkable to Ben Thanh Market, a 10-minute taxi ride from the Saigon Opera House, Notre Dame Cathedral and Independence Palace, and just 20 minutes from Cholon, Ho Chi Minh City’s Chinatown. The bars, cafes and shops of increasingly upscale Phuong Pham Ngu Lao neighborhood are five minutes away by foot, as is leafy Vien Dong Park, which in the mornings and evenings is crowded with the city’s residents exercising.

Pullman Saigon Centre

Tip:After a day of Ho Chi Minh City’s noise and controlled chaos, revive with a swim in the hotel’s sixth-floor lap pool or an aromatherapy massage (about $48 for 60 minutes) at Thann Sanctuary Spa, whose natural rice-bran oil-based products are imported from Thailand.

Getting There: Ho Chi Minh City’s unpredictable traffic means that the ride from Tan Son Nhat Airport can take anywhere from 30 minutes to an hour. Airport taxis are generally reliable, and the hotel offers airport pickup for about $50.